Smitty sled

I’m about as carpentry challenged as they come, but I got my smitty sled put together today. Now just need some ice!

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You will really like it. I have had one for years. For the years that we don’t get that much snow I even made some brackets and put wheels on the ski.

Nice!

What kind of screws do you use on the bottom of the skis? Do you counter sink a tapered head screw?
I want to build 1 of these but I want to be able to break it down for transport.

I just used 4 inch wood screws and counter sunk them. Mine is permanent, but I would use carriage bolts to break them down.

When I built mine I also wanted it to break down. For the risers make sure the width of the dado is fairly tight to the width of the crossmember. On the cross members I countersunk a 2 1/2 inch bolt from the top and secured the bolt underneath with a t-nut to hold it in place. Line these up with the risers and drill a corresponding hole in them. The crossmember will have the bolt permanently installed and drops into the hole you made on the risers. Breaks down into four pieces easily.

Navtiller,

Would you be able to post a few pics of your smitty & how it breaks down ?

I built one last year and cannot believe how easy they are to pull around. Mine was a NON-breakdown but I’m going to build a breakdown for my cousin this season.
FYI – layout the items you will be hauling out and build your sled to that.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

FYI – layout the items you will be hauling out and build your sled to that.

Good advice.

I’ll add if one is confined to a certain space for travel build to that. I built mine as big as would fit in back of yukon.

Futurepoorperson,

I will try tomorrow, but I gotta tell you, not really good and the photo thing. But I’ll try!

Here’s a pic of mine both broken down and ready for a sled. BrianP, did you consider attaching the pull rope to the tip of the skis as pictured here? Lots of guys recommend this to keep the pulling forces on the skis/smitty and not on the cargo/tie-downs.

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Here’s another tip, if you have a hub, then you don’t need a sled, this IS your sled. A big heavy duty plastic tote is cheaper, comes with a cover, and stacks better.

Thanks for the pics Brian.

What is the length of your risers? Looks to be ~ 18” ?

Thanks

^^^yes, 18” risers.

Yep, I still have to attach the rope.

Lumber dimensions:2 X 4 for cross members and 2 X 6 for risers?

Are downhill skis better than cross country skis? I have both.

Finished this one a couple of weeks ago, breaks down easily – 2×4 crosses, 2×6 risers, 2×2 blocks instead of notch cutting the 2×6’s – downhill skis

BackwaterICE,
Awesome set up !!
I like how you took the time to paint it looks good.

I assume a set of skis is fairly cheap & easy to find ?

I used all 2×6’s that I had on hand. The plan is to attach an eyebolt to the 2×6 shown on top of the house and hoist it to the rafters. Wishful thinking, but I think it will work.

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Yeah used skis are super cheap – I got that set for $10 with some decent poles

BackwaterICE, that’s a hot rod!!
I like the use of 2×2 blocks instead of notching. My notches, although functional, would not be pretty.

3Rivers wrote:

Here’s another tip, if you have a hub, then you don’t need a sled, this IS your sled. A big heavy duty plastic tote is cheaper, comes with a cover, and stacks better.

I like this idea

i built one exactly like brianF showed in his picture. Broke down nice but i was having issues with the skis going in different directions when pulling. this lead to the structure collapsing on itself and i would need to often stop and adjust things so it didn’t. Toward the end of last year i decided to make it a permanent structure and just screwed everything in place. That solved the problem i was having and it now works great although it cant be broken down which is a bit of a bummer.

I am NOT a skilled carpenter. Hacks call me a hack

Smitty sleds are awesome! Bring on the ice!